DUN & BRADSTREET HONG KONG COLLABORATES WITH THE BANKING SECTOR TO SUPPORT SME LENDING MARKET THROUGH COMMERCIAL DATA INTERCHANGE

HONG KONG,Oct. 25,2022 -- Dun & Bradstreet Hong Kong,a leading global provider of business decisioning data and analytics,welcomes the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA) announcement of the launch of the Commercial Data Interchange ("CDI") which is built for Hong Kong's next-generation financial data infrastructure.

As the sole operator of the Commercial Credit Reference Agency ("CCRA") in Hong Kong since 2004,appointed by the Hong Kong Association of Banks under the industry initiative supported by the HKMA,Dun & Bradstreet Hong Kong will also participate as one of the key data providers of CDI. In addition to providing CCRA-originated credit reference data,the new platform also has the potential to deliver data and data analytics from alternative data sources. By linking the CCRA database with the CDI,it enables banks and other CCRA members to quickly access and factor additional data-points into their decision-making processes,which in turn helps reduce risk and boost efficiency in both products and outcomes.

Mr. Andrew Wu,Managing Director,Dun & Bradstreet China - Mainland and Hong Kong SAR commented:

"Dun & Bradstreet Hong Kong is fully committed to its ongoing collaboration with the CDI to support further acceleration and upscaling of credit risk assessment processes,which will be benefit financers in Hong Kong's SME lending market."

Mr. Howard Lee,Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority,said,

"This year,along with the production launch of the CDI,we are delighted to see the CDI ecosystem continues to flourish with the participation of new data providers. This further enriches the data spectrum on CDI,encourages more collaborations between various stakeholders and the banking sector to develop innovative applications and offer better and more efficient banking services to their customers,co-develops a data-centric digital economy,and promotes financial inclusion."

The Commercial Data Interchange and Commercial Credit Reference Agency

A core element of the HKMA's "Fintech 2025" strategy,the new consent-based CDI platform,will measurably enhance banking and financial service efficiency via a revolutionary new financial data infrastructure platform. Instead of multiple one-to-one connections between banks and sources of commercial data each individual bank and data provider will now link to the CDI via a single connection. Data sharing will thus become more secure,efficient,and scalable. With unprecedented levels of connectivity and data accessibility facilitated by the CDI,it significantly enhances the efficiencies of the existing Hong Kong government-regulated CCRA database.

The speedy and safe sharing of reliable commercial data is critical in assessing customers' credit risk. By linking the CCRA to the CDI,it will streamline the accessing of credit data via Application Programming Interfaces ("APIs") and will make data sharing more secure,and scalable than ever before. The CDI will also help reduce human errors. By fueling up-to-date,relevant,and authenticated business data,it will further accelerate and upgrade credit risk assessment processes,delivering huge benefits for financers in the SME lending market.

About Dun & Bradstreet

Dun & Bradstreet,enables companies around the world to improve their business performance. Dun & Bradstreet's Data Cloud fuels solutions and delivers insights that empower customers to accelerate revenue,lower cost,mitigate risk and transform their businesses. Since 1841,companies of every size have relied on Dun & Bradstreet to help them manage risk and reveal opportunity. For more information on Dun & Bradstreet,please visit www.dnb.com.hk

Media Contact:

May Lo

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los@dnb.com